Pokémon and Puppy Eyes
by Sam-at-221B-TARDIS
Summary: The Free! boys are here but this time with a little extra something-Pokémon! A day at the beach might eventually have serious repercussions when Haruka and Makoto have to face their fears and admit their feelings...after having been nudged forward by their friends, that is. First Free!Fic... Maruka Fluff with implications of Reigisa and Rintori. Some swearing.


**Okay so this is my first fanfiction...ever. So, since I am relatively new at this, sorry it might suck and that it may be slightly OOC, but I did try my best to keep the characters' personalities intact throughout.**

* * *

Pokémon and Puppy Eyes

"Haruka! Why don't you wait until Rei and Nagisa get here?" Makoto asked as they arrived on the beach with the twins.

Haruka only grunted, "They'll be here soon enough," before rummaging through his bag and throwing out his Poke balls – letting out his Pokémon. Greninja, Vaporeon, Golduck, Lapras, Inkay, and Absol, Haru's only non-water type which had been a gift from Makoto, hadn't even stretched before he'd already stripped down to his swimsuit and sprinted down to the water. Greninja only gave a noncommittal sigh before stooping over to pick up his trainer's discarded clothes.

As always, Mako stopped him, nodding towards the twins. Greninja and Golduck nodded in understanding and went after Ren and Ran to take care of them and their Plusle and Minum. "Thank you!" Makoto called after them. Vaporeon, Inkay, and Lapras also made their way to the water whilst Absol just went to lay down under the shade of palm tree. Mako went over to join him, before letting out his own Pokémon. Wailmer, Politoed, Horsea, Flareon, Cyndaquil, and Pichu were all happy to find themselves at the beach. Flareon went and curled up beside Absol, Cyndaquil and Pichu went to go play in the sand, and Wailmer, Politoed, and Horsea went to join the others in the water.

Mako watched them for a while, enjoying how happy Haru, his siblings, and the Pokémon all looked. Lapras was letting Plusle and Minum ride on its back, Ren was playing with Inkay, Ran was with Horsea, and the rest of the Pokémon were either leisurely drifting around or babysitting, in Greninja and Golduck's case. Mako went to sit under the shade of the palm tree with the Pokémon that weren't out playing and began to take out food from his bag in order to begin preparing sandwiches for them to eat for lunch. He sat there spreading mayonnaise on the slices of bread quietly for a while, occasionally looking out at the others and giving a slight smile before going back to the task at hand. Absol and Flareon watched him in turn, knowing full well who he was really looking at.

"Haruka looks great today," he said, looking out to the water again. "If only Haru knew Mako liked him this much," Mako gave a sad smile, "I don't think Haru thinks of me the same way though." Flareon and Absol both smiled a bit, knowing that this was going to come sooner or later. They just wished he'd tell Haru already, since Haru pretty much thought the same about Mako even if he didn't voice it. It was so obvious – the way they looked at each other with that affection painting their cheeks pink and the lingering touches when handing each other things. But the boys were oblivious as always. Makoto turned back to the sandwich making, knowing how Rei loved for his sandwich to look beautiful and that Nagisa preferred eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead. Haru'd brought along mackerel for himself and he'd even made some for Makoto, which had caused butterflies to flutter in his stomach and had probably made him flush bright red when Haru had told him that morning. He prepared two identical sandwiches for the twins without the crust, and was just about to call out to the group in the water when Rei and Nagisa finally appeared.

"Mako-chan!" Nagisa yelled as he ran up the stretch of beach where he and Rei had been walking making their way to the group. Rei was jogging up behind him, already releasing his Pokémon: Butterfree, Beautifly, Vivillon, Espeon, Gallade, and Roserade.

"Hello Makoto-senpai," Rei said as he came to stand by Nagisa who was now releasing his own Pokémon: Piplup, Azurill, Buizel, Delibird, Jolteon, and Pachirisu. "Sorry we were late, it's just that the train didn't arrive at its usual departure time," Rei apologized before realizing that Makoto was the only one under the tree. "Where is Haruka-senpai?"

Makoto pointed out to the water where Haru was lazily sprawled out in the water, enjoying the gentle waves and sun. He allowed his gaze to linger on him more than was strictly necessary before calling out, "Haru-chan! Ren, Ran! Everybody! Lunch is ready!" He then turned back to Rei and Nagisa, "You guys aren't late, you're just in time," he smiled as he handed them their sandwiches. Makoto then took out the Pokémon food and began to divide it out amongst the bowls that had been brought. Everyone immediately surged to the palm tree to dig in. Ren and Ran were eating their sandwiches and toweling themselves dry amidst all the Pokémon who were munching on their food and Nagisa and Rei were now sitting beneath the palm tree enjoying their food. Rei was blushing bright red and Nagisa was giggling manically, a sure-fire indicator that Nagisa had probably made a very inappropriate joke. Mako smiled, then looked around for his best friend. He squinted out towards the sea, and sure enough, there was Haru, still drifting in the water calmly. Grabbing Haru's dolphin towel and the two servings of mackerel, Makoto made his way down to the shore.

"Haruka," he called, rousing his best friend from his thoughts. Bright blue eyes met green, and Mako smiled warmly before lifting the towel a bit to show Haru it was time to get out of the water. Haru sighed and dove beneath the water again before resurfacing nearer the shore and walking out of the water.

"You didn't have to come down, Makoto," he said before grabbing the towel. "Thank you," he said as he began drying his hair a bit. He caught the smile Mako was still wearing on his face as he began to dry his hands and had to look away towards the group so that Makoto didn't see the blush that was quickly spreading across his face. Makoto more often than not occupied his thoughts and whenever he was leisurely swimming that was all he thought about – his best friend and how he felt around him. At first he thought that he'd been getting sick the first time he felt the flutter in his stomach when he saw Makoto smiling at him like that, but when he began getting that feeling more and more often around Makoto he began to contemplate that made he had _feelings_ for Makoto. But that was absurd. Makoto was only his friend, and a very good one at that. So he just pushed his emotions away and dealt with the present, which just so happened to be Mako handing him his plate of mackerel.

Makoto sat down on the sand, patting the spot beside him for Haru to sit beside him. Haru did so without comment, digging into his food ravenously, just realizing how hungry he was. Mako began to eat as well, but not as enthusiastically as Haru given that he hadn't been doing anything that had exerted energy that Haru seemed to be replenishing. They sat in companionable silence after they'd eaten even though Haru had been put out when Mako didn't allow him to jump back into the ocean since he would have to wait at least 30 minutes after eating before going back in or else he'd cramp up. The occasional laughter from the group beneath the palm trees drifted down to where the two were sitting, just watching the waves. Mako looked back to the group and smiled, seeing how everyone was enjoying themselves. Haru watched Mako, loving that smile on his face even though his stoic expression revealed nothing. However, Mako noticed Haru's eyes on him, causing his heart to speed up slightly, and turned back, causing Haru to jump a bit at getting caught. Mako gave him a warm smile, which made Haru's stomach flip and his cheeks began to grow scarlet, so he pointed out to the shallows and said, "Hey, look at that."

Mako covered his eyes with his hand to stop the sun from shining in them and squinted towards the imaginary object Haru was determined he look at whilst he got his heart beat under control. Much to his surprise, what he managed to point out wasn't imaginary.

"It's a Pokémon!" Mako exclaimed, and it seemed as if it was just waiting to be acknowledged because at that moment the gentle sea breeze changed direction and carried its cries to them.

"Luv!" The small pink Pokémon called out. "Luuuv!" It cried out more insistently, as if trying to call for help.

Haru began to get up, his embarrassment and feelings of moments ago immediately forgotten as they heard the Pokémon's pained cries. "Sounds like it's hurt," he muttered quietly, "c'mon, let's see what we can do." He extended his hand to Mako to help him up before they both made their way to the small creature.

As they approached it, they began getting an actual good look at the Pokémon: it was about 2 feet big, and in the shape of a heart. Mako was sure he'd seen it somewhere before, and wracked his brain to come up with the name that belonged to this type of Pokémon, but it just seemed far enough away from his grasp for him to not be able to remember. Haru, unsurprisingly, knew the name right off the bat, showing his extensive knowledge of water-types.

"It's a Luvdisc," he whispered as they got closer, knowing that the apparently hurt Pokémon could get startled if he spoke too loudly. But it was too late, the Pokémon had seen them and began to squeal, obviously terrified.

"Luuv! Luuuv!" it exclaimed, trying to swim away, and only managing to splash around a bit, tainting the water red.

Mako gasped, now seeing the gash in the Pokémon's side. He turned to Haru, scared and not knowing what to do, but knowing they had to do _something_. Haru took his towel which had been draped across his shoulders and crouched down, approaching the Pokémon slowly, speaking quietly, reassuringly, and, sure enough, the Luvdisc quickly began to grow as mesmerized and trusting of Haru as Makoto had been the first time he'd met Haru. Before long, Haru had the Luvdisc in his arms wrapped in his towel. Haru looked at the blood quickly beginning to stain his towel and looked at Mako with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"We have to get it to the Pokémon Center," Mako said, taking a hold of Haru's hand, pushing aside how he felt when holding it, before running with him up the sand and to the group exclaiming that they had to get going – fast.

* * *

The group waited anxiously in the waiting room of the Pokémon Center. It seemed ages ago since Nagisa and Rei had arrived from dropping the twins, Plusle, and Minum at Mako's place and all their own Pokémon at Haru's house, and an even longer time since Haru and Mako had first gotten to the center with the unconscious Luvdisc. All four had nothing to do but wait and see what Nurse Joy would say about the little Pokémon.

The boys all broke out into relieved smiles and bubbly laughter when Nurse Joy walked out from the back with a now healthily stitched up Luvdisc and deposited the now happy Pokémon in Makoto's arms. Haru, Rei, and Nagisa crowded around them to hear Nurse Joy's news.

"That should do it. He's a fighter I tell you!" Nurse Joy gushed, "But, he does need rest. I wouldn't mind keeping him here until he makes a full recovery and then releasing him into the wild, but…" she trailed off as Luvdisc snuggled up against Makoto before letting out a content sound, "it seems as if he's taken a liking to you boys. So if you'd like to take him…"

"Yes!" Nagisa exclaimed, "It can live in Haru-chan's house," he pointed at the mentioned blue-haired boy, "and Mako-chan and Haru-chan can be its mama and papa!"

"Nagisa-kun," Rei chastised, "do not go volunteering Haruka-senpai like that. He may not feel comfortable with the idea." He glanced over at Haru not noticing that he was blushing furiously and avoiding Makoto's eyes even though Mako was blushing equally as much. Rei pushed up his glasses and carried on beautifully, straight to the point, "But I can take him if you'd like."

Haru had finally gotten his blush under control and felt like he could trust his voice to speak and said, "It's okay, Rei-kun. I can take him."

Nurse Joy gave Haru and Mako a quizzical look before exclaiming, "Then that settles it! Luvdisc will go home with, Haruka - is it?" Haru nodded. "Then just make sure this cutie doesn't over exert itself," she seemed to be debating with herself mentally for a few second when she blurted out, "By the way, who found him?"

Makoto spoke for the first time, looking down at the Luvdisc since he could still feel the blush coloring his cheeks from Nagisa's earlier comment, "Haru and I found it in the shallows at the beach."

Nurse Joy made a slight choking noise at the back of her throat which sounded strangely like she was trying to hold back laughter. When she seemed to have regained her composure, she just giggled, "Well then, you boys should get going." She ushered them all the way out to street before smiling warmly at the group, "I'm sure that this baby couldn't have found a more perfect family." They started trekking down the street and all turned around and waved at Nurse Joy as they reached the hill overlooking Haru's house before heading down and showing Luvdisc its new, although temporary, home.

* * *

It had been about a week since they'd found the Luvdisc, and Makoto still couldn't forget the way Nurse Joy had reacted when she'd heard who'd found the little Pokémon. As a matter of fact, he still couldn't get what Nagisa had said about Haru and Makoto being Luvdisc's mom and dad out of his head either. He knew there was something to what Nurse Joy had said, some sort of folklore or legend, but he just couldn't remember. What Nagisa had said had bothered him because…it'd just made him feel like someone knew how he felt about Haru. He had just woken up on the extra mattress that Haru always pulled out whenever he spent the night when those thoughts began to plague him again. He already had enough to worry about, what with that ridiculous incident last night where he'd knocked Haru off the bed when they'd been playing video games. He thought for a second that maybe he saw something that indicated that Haru felt the same way he did and acted rashly. Haru's bright blush immediately betrayed him, making it clear to Makoto that he did not feel the same. It'd been soul shattering, but thankfully Haru didn't even seem to notice the emotional turmoil Makoto had felt in those moments, so he'd only acted instinctively and rebuffed his affections, so it became easy to offhandedly brush past the incident and continue playing. He knew that if he were able to curl up next to the blue-haired individual still snoring softly on his own bed that he wouldn't even remember the problem, but alas, it was just a fleeting fantasy that Mako refused to think about too often since he knew it would never happen. He rolled over, trying to fall asleep again but to no avail, so he settled on getting up and taking a shower.

Haru was already up and about, making breakfast in the kitchen in his apron and trademark swimsuit when Mako got out of the bathroom toweling dry his still wet hair.

"'Morning Haru," he smiled, unknowingly causing the recipient of this greeting to blush slightly pink. Haru only smiled lightly in return before going back to the attention consuming task of cooking mackerel. Makoto went around checking on their Pokémon, making sure they'd gotten their adequate rest and that they were fed. He then made his way over to the fish tank to check on the little Luvdisc. It was healing at a magnificent rate, and the boys estimated that it'd be fit to be released into the wild by next week. The thought made Mako a little sad, but he knew that Luvdisc would be the happiest back where it belonged.

"Makoto," Haru called, probably because the mackerel was ready. He went back into the kitchen to get the plates and set them on the table. Then Haru served the food, and they began to eat breakfast.

There were a few minutes of comfortable silence as they both ate, their Pokémon providing soothing background noise which put both of them at ease. It was a few more bites of mackerel before Mako asked, "Are Nagisa-kun and Rei-kun coming over today?"

Haru thought about that for a second, mackerel half-way to his mouth. "I believe so," he murmured, "it's Saturday, and they always seem to come over on our days off."

Makoto just nodded, before going back to his food. He enjoyed the company of their friends, but he just wished that he could have some more time alone with Haru. He loved hanging around with him; playing video games, going to the ocean (even though it scared him senseless), even doing homework was always more fun whenever he was with Haru. He felt a soft pang in his chest and decided to think about other things, because usually whenever he thought about Haru he felt that he began to get overwhelmed with emotions – some that he wasn't even prepared to deal with yet.

A twitch of movement from the corner of his eye was what brought him back from his thoughts. He turned just in time to catch a glimpse of Haru's Absol and his Flareon running around the corner and out of the kitchen. Haru noticed too, and when he went back to his food his eyes met Makoto's and he smiled, to which Makoto laughed.

"Spying on us now, aren't they," Makoto replied, looking over at the spot in the kitchen where their Pokémon had presumably been hiding. Haru only laughed lightly before shoving a piece of mackerel into his mouth, knowing exactly why they'd probably been spying.

Haru wasn't very big on sharing his feelings, but sometimes, late at night (or really early in the morning, whatever you want to call it) when he felt like he couldn't sleep because all he could think about was the boy with green eyes and the warm smile, he'd talk to his Pokémon about it. Or, well, he'd mumble under his breath about how much the boy sitting across from him made feel like he'd missed a step going down the stairs every time he'd so much as smile. Most of his Pokémon understood him, knew why he was so afraid to put his feelings out in the open, but Absol would not let him be. Whenever he'd see them sharing a Popsicle it'd just stare at Haru, then at Mako, then back again at Haru as if saying _Just tell him already_. Makoto's Flareon wasn't any better either. He had a feeling that Absol had told his best friend and that she wanted Haru to do something as well. Take last night for example, when they'd been playing video games. Haru had popped in Mario Kart and they'd begun to play as usual. Makoto had the habit of tilting in unison with his on-screen character when said character was turning and what not. So, during a very dramatic turn, Makoto had tilted way too much, overbalanced, and had bumped into Haru, knocking them both off the bed and to the ground. Haru had smiled at the comedic value of the situation, and Makoto had laughed, something Haru both heard and felt, a light rumbling of Mako's chest erupting in a melodic and contagious laughter that more often than not was the cause of Haru's smiles. It had been then that they realized that Makoto had stayed on Haru for a second too long. It was then that they both noticed how Makoto was practically pinning Haru to the floor, their bodies pressed against each other with only Makoto's arms keeping him from crushing the slender blue-haired teen, the Wii controllers discarded to the side after the fall. The silence had been a deafening, piercing thing, which made him inexplicably draw closer to Makoto. Something crossed Makoto's eyes, Haru wasn't sure what exactly, and he felt, or rather, he imagined him leaning in too before Haru had felt himself grow bright red and then Makoto was the same shade of scarlet as he was and the moment was broken, Makoto was getting up, extending a hand towards Haru in a scene that had become so familiar from their usual morning routine but that now felt like a slap in the face for Haru because he knew he shouldn't have hoped for anything other than this: a friend who'd always be there to help him up. Not a _boy_friend who'd be there to knock him down and laugh with him and then proceed to make out with him. Even though, now that he thought about it, Makoto would probably be there to pick him up too if he were his boyfriend, but that wasn't the point. Makoto would only ever be his friend. Only a friend. Last night had been a heartbreaking reminder of the fact. And Makoto's Flareon hadn't made the situation any better when, once they'd brushed themselves off and had begun to play again, he turned and saw her staring at him then at Makoto before shaking her head. He'd felt like she'd intruded into the deepest recesses of his very being: that part of him that knew that he had a crush on Makoto. He knew that his emotions had been openly exposed, left out there for whomever to dissect away as they pleased.

So now, Absol and Flareon were spying on them, trying to see if anything happened. Great.

He was brought back to reality when the doorbell rang. Makoto and he exchanged a glance before Makoto volunteered to go get the door. That left Haru with the task of picking up the plates and washing the dishes, something that he'd get done in about 5 minutes, which was enough to clear his thoughts of the boy who was getting the door.

"Mako-chan!" Nagisa yelled when he opened the door and pulled him into a tight hug, despite his tiny size. He hugged him back before looking at the other two who were accompanying him.

Rei nodded in greeting, "Hello, Makoto-senpai," he added, formal as usual, a trend that Nagisa was slowly but surely chipping away with his fun and carefree attitude. He glanced over Makoto's shoulder and then looked around what he could see of the house before he asked Makoto, "Where is Haruka-senpai?"

"In the kitchen, washing the dishes from breakfast," Makoto replied, signaling for them to come in.

Then he finally turned to see Rin, his arms held behind his head in leisurely stance when he flashed Mako a glimpse of his teeth in what he supposed was smile, which was something he was still getting used to.

Makoto warmly ushered them into Haru's house, telling them to get comfortable in the living room before he made his way into the kitchen. From Haru's peripheral vision he could see Makoto's head pop around the corner and before he could even ask he replied, "I'm already rinsing the dishes; I'll be out in a few minutes. Thank you for offering to help, Makoto." Makoto smiled brightly at Haru before then going back to the living room and plunking down on the couch.

"So, are we going to the beach again? I mean, Rin is here this weekend and our last trip to the ocean was cut short when we found the little guy," he nodded towards the tank where Luvdisc was happily swimming in, "so we can all go this weekend and have a nice day out."

Rei, Rin, and Nagisa exchanged a glance before Nagisa stood up. "Listen, Mako-chan…there's something we need to talk about." For once, Nagisa seemed at a loss of words, uncomfortable, and shy, three things that Nagisa never was, which meant that if he was all these three things at once, that whatever was going on it was serious.

Makoto grew slightly nervous. "Nagisa," he coaxed gently, trying to see if he could get the blond to open up and tell him what was wrong, "what is it? You can tell me what's bothering you, you know."

Nagisa sat back down, his bangs covering his eyes. Makoto looked over at Rin and Rei, who obviously knew what was going on, but who were both stubbornly avoiding his eyes. It was a few seconds that seemed like an eternity before Nagisa looked up at Makoto and said, "We have to wait until Haru-chan is here to tell you. You both need to know."

A million scenarios a second ran through his mind about how bad whatever they were going to tell him and Haru was. Maybe Rin had killed Seijuurou, captain of the Samezuka swim team, because he found out that he liked Gou; ripped out his throat with those razor-sharp shark teeth of his. Maybe that was how people in Australia dealt with people hitting on a relative. So Rei and Nagisa had helped him dispose of the body or something, and now they needed help evading the police. Or maybe one of them was dying, infected with some sort of zombie-like airborne disease from those action/post-apocalyptic movies Haru and he loved to watch late at night. It was probably Rei, and he'd asked Nagisa for help, but Nagisa knew that if Rei did turn into a zombie, he wouldn't have the heart to do what must be done, so he'd asked Rin to come along to kill Rei just in case Rei turned. And now here they were telling Haru and Mako how they had to grab their families and Pokémon and run and hide before everyone else began to turn. Or, maybe, Nagisa had unleased a curse or something, gone into a haunted house and disturbed a dangerous spirit or deity who was now plotting to destroy them. Nagisa had always been fascinated by things like that, always wanting to watch scary movies about those things whenever the group spent the night. And now he'd gone and done the irreversible, he'd messed with something in real life, and any second now a cold wind was going to blow through Haru's house and plunge them into a supernatural darkness and their Pokémon would find their dead bodies covered in blood, torn to shreds.

Or maybe the pool had run out of water.

Haru jolted him back to the present when he walked into the room, apron-less but still swimsuit clad, drying his hands on a towel. "What is it you need to tell us?" he asked. He sat down beside Makoto after having said hello to the group, and Makoto had to resist the urge to hold his hand and tell him that everything would be okay: Rin wouldn't be arrested for murder, they'd find a cure for Rei's zombie virus, they'd figure out how to get rid of whatever was after Nagisa, the pool would be refilled. However, he knew that all the above scenarios would happen before he and Haru ever grew to be that close.

Nagisa now seemed unable to speak with Haru in the room, so he turned to Rei and Rin for help. Rin began to speak, "Look, after you both found and adopted the Luvdisc and you told me about it, I remembered some folklore about people who found Luvdiscs. I didn't know exactly what it was, so I went to this one," he pointed at Rei, who reddened slightly at being singled out, but Rin just barreled on, "to find out what the lore really was. And it turns out…" he fumbled, not knowing how to continue, so he passed the baton on to his next comrade, so he could finish this conversation which had become some sort of race to get Haru and Makoto up to speed. A race neither of the three knew how to keep going for more than about two sentences at a time. "Well, we'll let Ryugazaki finish this conversation," he said, patting Rei on the back and almost knocking him to the ground.

Rei nervously pushed his glasses back into place, a habit he usually displayed before doing something or setting his mind to doing something. "W-well," he began, before clearing his throat and glancing at Rin and Nagisa in a pleading manner before he resumed what he'd been saying, "well, Makoto-senpai, Haruka-senpai, I began to research any sort of legend or myth, any folklore having to do with finding Luvdiscs, and this is what I found." He pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket and unfolded it carefully, revealing a picture of a Luvdisc along with multiple pieces of useful information for Pokémon trainers about how to care for the Pokémon. Along the bottom, written in smaller font, were the words "Pokémon Mythology". Then Rei nervously read the line beneath that, "_It is said that a couple finding this Pokémon will be blessed with eternal love_."

Time stopped. Makoto felt like he was in a dream, and then a memory resurfaced, one he'd been trying to access for a while now: his mother and father were showing him a photo album from when they'd been young and dating. There'd been a cute, little heart-shaped Pokémon in a few of the pictures, and when Makoto asked what it was, his mother had answered, "_That's a Luvdisc. Any couple who finds it is blessed with eternal love. But, it doesn't just automatically create love; the love has to already exist between the two people who find it. That's how I knew your father and I were the real deal. We found it, and knew it was meant to be." _He seemed to come back to reality after that, but that didn't change the fact that he was still staring stupidly at the paper in Rei's hands.

The news didn't sink in, it wouldn't process correctly since this suggested that Mako and Haru liked each other. It made no sense, but when it finally sunk in, Makoto's head snapped from the paper in Rei's hands to his face, and then to Nagisa and Rin in exchange. He was hoping to see one of them laugh and say, "_Just kidding! We wanted to see how you two would react, finding out this profound bond has been forged between you two!"_ None of them was looking as if they were joking though. He'd rather deal with any of his previous scenarios than have to mess up his friendship with Haru by making his feelings public.

He then looked nervously over at Haru after a few painstaking seconds, who was sitting right beside him. His face had grown visibly darker, his eyes unreadable. Mako wanted to say something, or hear Haru say something; he just wanted something to break this horrible silence that was threatening to suffocate him. Nothing did though, and no one stopped Haru when he got up and stormed from the room.

Makoto stared at the door that Haru had just slammed, feeling as if he'd not only just left his house, but as if Haru had just shut the door on Makoto and his feelings, possibly never to return. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill. He felt terrible. He couldn't breathe. His chest felt as if it were being crushed by a steamroller. Haru didn't feel the same way he did. Haru would probably never want to talk to him again; he'd find it too awkward, having to deal with his best friend who happened to have a crush on him. It was pathetic. Finding that Luvdisc was a mere coincidence, it had nothing to do with there being some sort of unspoken emotions that they were both hiding. He knew he needed to calm himself down, so he plastered a smile on his face to hide what he was feeling and then said, awfully fake, "Well that's interesting news."

The other three were all different levels of shocked: Rin was staring at the shut door slightly disheveled, Nagisa had his mouth hanging open, also staring at the door, and Rei was silently watching Makoto suffer and pretend he was okay. When Makoto had spoken, Nagisa jumped up from his seat on the couch and exclaimed, "Oh, Mako-chan! You're crying!"

Mako put a hand up to his cheeks and felt that the tears had begun to spill silently, but when Nagisa acknowledged the fact, Makoto couldn't keep the small sob from escaping him. Rei sat up to sit beside him along with Nagisa, and they began the process of trying to comfort him:

"Makoto-senpai, I'm so sorry, we shouldn't have said anything."

"Mako-chan, it'll be okay, Haru-chan will come back."

"Don't cry Makoto-senpai, Haruka-senpai is just shocked about the news, it was a very reasonable reaction."

"Yes, Mako-chan! Haru-chan is only scared about admitting his feelings!"

The last two sentences pierced through Makoto's heartbroken fog. "Eh?" was all he could do to concoct some sort of coherent question and not break apart completely.

Before either Nagisa or Rei could answer, Rin sat forward and fired away, "Makoto, don't tell me you haven't noticed?"

Makoto just stared at him blankly.

Rin huffed, "Look man, it hurts me to see how much this news wrecked you, especially since we did this in order to _save_ you from any more damn heartbreak, but listen: Haru likes you. A lot. He's just too fucking stubborn to see it. Too stubborn and too scared that you don't like him back, which is pretty much impossible," he raised his hand to stop the question that Makoto was about to ask, "How do we know? It's obvious, okay. It's blatantly obvious. These two can tell you what we've seen that provides perfect proof of the…thing that you two obviously feel." He got up and began heading for the door.

"RinRin, where are you going?" Nagisa asked since Rei was still trying to gently cheer up Makoto and Makoto was staring mutely at Rin's retreating back.

"I'm going to the pool to talk some sense into our favorite little dolphin," he tossed over his shoulder.

* * *

Rin made his way to the Iwatobi swimming pool, knowing Haru would come to this place to escape his problems and to think. Unsurprisingly, when he finally got to the pool, Haru was already swimming away, with a ferocious intensity that Rin had only ever seen whenever he'd swum competitively. He felt like if he watched him for a bit, he'd be able to pick up a few tips on how to swim free even though he'd never admit out loud that Haru was a much better swimmer than him; however, he knew that he wasn't here to learn how to swim. He'd come here to get Haru to see what was staring straight at him.

"Haruka," he called out quietly, knowing that his voice would carry since it was silent on campus since it was Saturday and also because it was moderately early for a weekend – 10 in the morning.

Haru slowed to a stop in front of Rin before asking quietly, "What do you want?"

Rin was slightly startled to find a venomous look in his blue eyes. He had never seen Haru like this, all silent rage and icy daggers – he found it terrifying; especially since he had always been the scary one. He couldn't run and hide though, no matter how badly his stomach squirmed at having to deal with Haru's icy rage; he owed it to Makoto to get Haru to see sense.

"I'm here to talk about Makoto." Rin had said it confidently, returning back into his nonchalant self.

Haru hauled himself out of the pool and crossed his arms – a slightly defensive pose. "What about Makoto?"

Rin couldn't help but notice how Haru's voice cracked when he said his name. He also now noticed that his eyes were red and puffy – maybe from the chlorine in the pool, maybe because he'd been…c_rying_. The first one seemed to be the most plausible explanation but even as he watched Haru's usually oh-so-stoic demeanor began to slowly crumble: he was shaking, eyes filled with tears, shoulder's slightly sagging.

He may not be the most touchy-feely type of person, but Rin couldn't stand to see two of his closest friends defeated by something as trivial as a misunderstanding. "Okay, what we said back there was clearly not the best way to address the situation-"

Then Haru lost it, threw his hands up in the air, and started shouting in a completely uncharacteristic way. "Finally noticed that now, Rin! Finally noticed that now! Did you see the way Makoto looked at me, how _nervous_ he was that what you guys said was true!" he paused for a split second for breath, but quickly continued on when he saw that Rin was about to interrupt him, "Did you notice the look he gave me! It was a pleading glance for me to reassure him that everything was perfectly normal between us, that we're just really great friends; he wanted me to reassure him that I didn't love him with such a burning intensity-" he stopped suddenly, knowing he'd said too much, and feeling like he was choking.

"_He wanted me to reassure him that I didn't love him,_" his words echoed inside his mind.

_I love Makoto._

What he'd been dreading to admit to himself, what he hadn't even allowed himself to think about, he'd gone and said it out loud, making the words true, not able to be taken back.

He dropped his hands to his sides and took a shuddering breath, trying to get himself under control. _The water_, he thought, _get back to the water._

He was about to turn around and jump back in when a hand grabbed a tight hold of him and yanked him forward. "Now let's go and say that to Makoto and get this whole mess sorted out," Rin said, dragging him in the direction of the changing room.

Haru ripped his arm from his grasp and glared at Rin, "I don't need to tell him," Haru breathed out quietly, "it was proof enough that what you guys implied was true when I just took off like that. He's probably explaining to Rei and Nagisa that he doesn't like me in that way right now. Why do you want me to tell him how and feel if I'm only going to get let down gently?"

Rin looked so frustrated it was almost funny. "Look numbskull, if by 'explaining to Rei and Nagisa' how he feels, you mean crying his heart out because he thinks you don't like him, then yeah, he's doing exactly that."

That got Haru's attention. "Makoto is crying," Haru asked in disbelief, "because he thinks I don't like him?"

Rin pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb silently counting to ten before waving his hand casually and saying, "Yes, that's exactly what I just said, and if I'm not mistaken I did not stutter."

Haru was dumbfounded. Why did Makoto think he didn't like him? Why would that fact even bother Makoto? Shouldn't Makoto be relieved that his best friend did not like him like that?

Noticing that Haru obviously did not understand, Rin knew he'd have to spell it out for blue-haired teen, "Honestly, I'd see why Makoto didn't notice that you liked what with you being so mysterious and deep like the water you seem to love so much, but you? I'd thought you'd known he was head over heels for you. The way you guys look at each other, for instance; it's sickening. I have never seen anyone look so damn love struck when looking at someone else. And all that blushing, oh my God, man, you guys literally blush every time the other one smiles. It's like, you smile at Makoto and he becomes a tomato, he smiles at you, you become a tomato. It's the same thing when either of you laughs; the other one stops and smiles while watching the other, so engrossed in the other's happiness, it makes me want to gag." He stopped to draw breath, and seeing the insecure gleam in Haru's eyes he knew he had to keep going to get him to see what was so obvious to the rest of the world. "Haruka, the way you guys are always sharing shit like the popsicles you guys are so inclined to buy and how when you hand him his half or he hands you yours, your fingers brush for a second longer than any normal friendship allows and you blush and he blushes and you guys look away all bashful and please, Haru, let me stop listing these things because I feel like I need to punch something in order to feel tough again and also because you really need to go tell Makoto how you feel."

Rin took a deep breath and looked at Haru. Haru stared back quizzically, silently, clearly trying to see if there was any possibility that Rin could be lying. Once satisfied that he was telling the truth, Haru just took off past Rin, running in the direction from which Rin had come from.

"Oh my God, where the hell are you going now?" Rin called out, starting to jog after him.

"I have to talk to Makoto," was all Haru replied, more to himself than to Rin. He also really hoped his sprint back home would get his swimsuit dry.

* * *

Nagisa had an arm around a still devastated Makoto, whilst Rei was going through his very long list of evidence trying to show Makoto that Haru did like him.

"…and when you almost drowned, for days afterwards it was obvious he was still very shaken due to the incident. Whenever you were swimming, he kept a very close eye on you, making sure you were fine and that nothing happened to you. This in and of itself shows Haru's deep affection for you. Makoto-senpai, if you _still_ don't believe me, then I don't know what else to say," Rei finished, reflexively pushing up his red spectacles.

It had been about 20 minutes since Rin had gone after Haru, and still nothing. Nagisa had thought about texting Rin, but he decided on letting him deal with Haru without pestering him for the details. Rei was good with all this evidence stuff. Since finding out about what it meant when two people who were in love found a Luvdisc, Rin, Rei and himself had been trying to come up with really convincing points just in case Haru and Makoto proved to be unbelieving. Rei had been the one to recall the most details, with Rin and Nagisa only pitching in with things that they noticed when they had been kids. It had been strange seeing Rei explain how Haru and Mako were in love, especially since he was such a logic and numbers type of person, but in the end, it proved to have worked effectively on Makoto.

"So, you guys really think Haru likes me back?" Makoto asked hiccupping slightly since his crying had subsided a few minutes earlier.

Nagisa gave him a small squeeze, "Of course we do, Mako-chan! It's really obvious!" He seemed to puff up with pride when he said the next part, "What you two have is genuine and true!" He then glanced quickly at Rei to see if he had used "genuine" in the right context. It wasn't because he didn't know what it meant, it was only because he'd never used that word in a conversation, but Rei seemed to use it with such ease, Nagisa had to try.

The corners of Rei's mouth twitched into a small smile, "Nagisa-kun is right, Makoto-senpai. You both have just been too scared to admit your feelings openly."

Makoto's face lit up with the ghost of a smile, but it was immediately replaced with doubt. "What if you guys read the signs wrong?" Before Nagisa or Rei could jump in, Makoto hurriedly added, "Haru's signs, I mean. You guys read my signs correctly like an open book, even though I'd been trying my best to be subtle."

Rei smiled lightly, and Nagisa began giggling before asking, "Was that what that was, Mako-chan, you being subtle?"

"Oi, Nagisa-kun! I didn't know exactly what I was doing okay?" Makoto countered, almost back to his old happy self. However, the dark cloud quickly overcame him again. "We're past subtleties at this point, anyway, so my only hope is that Haruka and I can still be best friends and forget all about my feelings."

Nagisa groaned and Rei just shook his head, "Makoto-senpai, even though all the facts indicate-"

"Rei-chan! Mako-chan is being stubborn and scared, even though everyone else can see that he and Haru-chan love each other very much…" Nagisa kept on talking, trying to convince Makoto about how their feelings were true, but he'd stopped listening.

_Mako-chan and Haru-chan love each other very much._

_Mako-chan and Haru-chan love each other very much._

The sentence seemed to be playing on loop inside Makoto's brain, because how had he been so blind? How had he thought that what he felt for Haruka would one day disappear? How had he believed that he only had a school boy crush on his best friend?

It wasn't until Nagisa had said it that Makoto realized that he did indeed love Haruka. He only hoped that Nagisa, Rei, and Rin were right and Haruka felt the same. He felt that he could now afford to harbor a small amount of hope.

A quote from a dystopian action film Haru and he had seen a few months back floated to the surface of his memory.

"_Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear."_

He remembered sneaking a look at Haru to see him looking at him too, before he turned his attention back to the screen. He remembered still looking at Haru, at his blue, unfathomable eyes, and thinking that the old man was wrong, that fear can be a very strong oppressor and sometimes hope only makes it more unbearable to go on. It was only now that he realized that hope can be a terribly strong motivator, because even though he was terrified that this could all end horribly wrong, there was also the possibility that this could all end incredibly right.

He knew what he had to do. He had to find Haruka and tell him how he felt.

"…so Mako-chan just open up your eyes and stop denying the facts!" Nagisa huffed as Makoto focused on the conversation again.

With renewed resolve, Makoto said, "Okay, Nagisa. And to prove to you that I've stopped denying the facts I'm – "

A panting Haru at the door was what interrupted Makoto. He quickly walked over a few steps and reached for Makoto before dropping his hand to his side when he realized that Rei and Nagisa were still in the room. He nodded in greeting before saying, still slightly out of breath, "Makoto…" and Mako couldn't deny that he felt an exhilarating chill run down his spine when he said his name like that, "…can we talk?"

The exhilarating chill turned into nervous butterflies as he watched Haru, hair still wet from probably taking a dip in the school's swimming pool, shyly looking at him and waiting for him to answer. "Yeah, of course," Makoto stood up and wiping a hand across his face, erasing the tear tracks from when he'd been crying.

They walked outside and passed by Rin, who was making his way inside. Rin glanced at the both of them with raised eyebrows, but let them pass without asking any questions. They got down to the bottom of the steps which led up to Haru's house when they finally came to a stop.

It was quiet for a few seconds, both too afraid to say anything. It was Haru who finally spoke. "So, that Luvdisc we found means…"

"Yeah," Makoto said quietly, nervously, "It means…yeah." He'd felt so brave just mere minutes ago, but now he felt like he was close to shattering from the nerves, as if a light breeze could cause him to break apart, scattering him into a million pieces.

Haru nodded, and looked at the ground. He looked up once, seemingly to say something, but then he looked away nervously, out towards where they knew the ocean was. Makoto watched him quietly, not knowing what to do, what to say.

The silence stretched on, ominously seeming to create a barrier between the two.

"Haruka…"

"Makoto…" They both began at the same time, causing some of the tension to dissolve, making the two more comfortable.

Haru turned to face the taller teen and Makoto, seeing the opportunity and feeling some of his courage return to him, said, "Haruka, don't think I'm saying this because of the Luvdisc we found last week, okay? But, I love you. I have for a really long time. I was just afraid to tell you, but I love you, Haruka Nanase, a lot, okay? That shy smile, those amazing eyes, your blue hair, your fascination with water, everything: I love every little thing that makes you Haruka." He then looked down and clasped his hands, Makoto's signature nervous gesture.

That's why he was so startled when he felt two thin but toned arms wrap around his neck and a pair of soft lips press against his own.

Haruka was kissing him.

It was a perfect surprise.

Makoto's eyes slid shut and he reveled in the feel of Haru: of his surprisingly soft lips which tasted slightly of chlorine, of his damp hair where Makoto had put one of his hands to steady Haru since he was on his tippy toes, of how Haru tightened his grip on Makoto which made Makoto tighten his grip on Haru.

The kiss only ended when the two were feeling light headed and the need to breathe became too great. They pulled back, resting their foreheads together, Haru now firmly planted on the ground with Makoto's arms at his waist and his own arms still around Makoto's neck.

"Haru," Makoto said questioningly when he felt his voice wouldn't fail him.

"Hmm?" Haru hummed, lips red and oh-so-inviting from the kiss.

"What was that?" he asked, needing verbal assurance that this confirmed what Rei, Nagisa, and Rin had been trying to convince him about all along.

Haru opened his eyes, and blushed a little, "It was my way of saying I love you, too." He pulled back a bit to look Makoto in the eye, "Makoto Tachibana, I love you. I love your kind smile, the way you try to keep everyone happy, the way your eyes crinkle when you laugh, just about every little thing about you, the way that you're my best friend and, if you'd like, I love the way you could possibly accept to be my boyfriend."

Makoto didn't know how to respond, so he did the only thing that came to mind: he kissed Haru.

He leaned down and gave Haru a tender kiss. Haru kissed him back gently as well before pulling a hairsbreadth away from Makoto and asking, "Is that a yes?"

Makoto grinned and kissed Haru again with a muffled, "Mmm hmm," to which Haru responded with smiling into the kiss as well.

"RINRIN, REI-CHAN COME OUTSIDE!"

Nagisa's scream was what brought them back to the present. Makoto and Haruka pulled back enough to be able to turn and glance up at Haru's house just in time to see Rin and Rei running out and staring open mouthed at the scene before them.

"THEY WERE JUST KISSING RIGHT NOW, IT WORKED! IT WORKED!" Nagisa shouted, ecstatic that their gentle nudge had finally made Makoto and Haruka get together.

Haruka extricated himself from Makoto's arms and decided upon taking a hold Makoto's hand. Makoto grinned the smile that still made butterflies flutter in Haruka's stomach and leaned down to kiss Haruka's temple affectionately, and then they both began to climb up towards Haru's house. Haru caught sight of a flicker of white and red movement retreating back inside the door past Rin and Rei's legs and realized that it was Absol and Flareon again, now leaving them alone since Makoto and Haruka had now admitted their feelings to each other. They were just getting within earshot when they heard Rin telling the other two something whilst throwing his arms around their shoulders.

"…Finally, now we won't have to suffer from any more puppy eyes from these two ever again," Rin laughed happily.

"It's good to see that Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai are now together and not hiding their emotions anymore," Rei said, adjusting his askew glass with a smile.

Nagisa nodded fervently before turning towards Rei and saying, "Rei-chan! Now we can focus on getting RinRin to admit his feelings for Nitori and then they can be together!"

"Eh!" Rin shouted, immediately flushing red, "I do not like Ai like that!" The blush on his face said otherwise, but Nagisa dropped the subject with a giggle and something that sounded somewhat like, "Rei-chan and I know you're lying!"

Haruka and Makoto had finally gotten to the top of the stairs, Makoto with a giant grin and Haru with a small smile. They listened to Rin try to convince Nagisa (and more likely himself) that Nitori was only his friend and watched Rei look at Nagisa with a bemused expression that hid an emotion that both Makoto and Haruka were familiar with and they realized happily that thanks to these three they noticed that fate itself had intervened by dropping that injured Luvdisc in their path last week to make them finally admit what they'd been feeling for such a long time.

Whilst the others continued to focus their attention on Rin's explanation, Makoto kissed Haru's temple and whispered the words he'd never be tired of saying, "I love you. With all my heart, Haruka, I love you."

Haru turned to face Makoto and gave him a kiss on the cheek before pulling him into a tight hug. "I love you, too, Makoto."

"More than water?" Makoto asked with a smile that Haru felt instead of saw.

"Much more than water." Haruka confirmed standing on his tippy toes and kissing Makoto on the lips again, knowing he'd never get tired of being with Makoto.

* * *

**So, how was it? Good? Bad? Should I write more? Please Rate and Review! And thanks for reading!**


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